Method and apparatus for forming communication group based on location history

ABSTRACT

Communication groups are formed based on mobile station location history. The process includes receiving, at a controller device, a group formation request from a requesting device, the request specifying a location and a time window, identifying one or more mobile stations determined to be within a threshold area relative to the location during the time window, and causing a communication group to be created including the identified one or more mobile stations. A further process includes a requesting device configured to identify a location and time window associated with an event, transmit a group formation request specifying the location and the time window and requesting formation of a communication group comprising mobile stations located within a threshold area relative to the location during the time window, and transmit using a communication group identifier provided to the requesting device.

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/880,863 filed in the United States Patent Officeon Oct. 12, 2015, which itself was a US National Filing and filed withinone year of, and claimed priority to under 35 U.S.C. §119, EuropeanPatent Application No. EP 14460066.5, filed in the European PatentOffice on Oct. 13, 2014, the entire contents of both of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Radio access networks (RANs) provide for radio communication links to bearranged within the network between a plurality of user terminals. Suchuser terminals may be mobile and may be known as ‘mobile stations’ or‘subscriber units.’ At least one other terminal, e.g. used inconjunction with mobile stations (MSs), may be a fixed terminal, e.g. abase station, eNodeB, repeater, and/or access point. Such a RANtypically includes a system infrastructure that generally includes anetwork of various fixed terminals, which are in direct radiocommunication with the MSs. Each of the fixed terminals operating in theRAN may have one or more transceivers which may, for example, serve MSsin a given region or area, known as a ‘cell’ or ‘site’, by radiofrequency (RF) communication. The MSs that are in direct communicationwith a particular fixed terminal are said to be served by the fixedterminal. In one example, all radio communications to and from each MSwithin the RAN are made via respective serving fixed terminals. Sites ofneighboring fixed terminals may be offset from one another and may benon-overlapping or partially or fully overlapping with one another.

RANs may operate according to any one of a number of available industrystandard broadband protocols such as, for example, an open mediaalliance (OMA) push to talk (PTT) over cellular (OMA-PoC) standard, avoice over IP (VoIP) standard, or a PTT over IP (PoIP) standard.Typically, protocols such as PoC, VoIP, and PoIP are implemented overbroadband RANs that may include third generation and fourth generationnetworks such as third generation partnership project (3GPP) Long TermEvolution (LTE) networks.

RANs may additionally or alternatively operate according to an industrystandard land mobile radio (LMR) protocol such as, for example, theProject 25 (P25) standard defined by the Association of Public SafetyCommunications Officials International (APCO), or other radio protocols,the Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) standard defined by the EuropeanTelecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI), the Digital Private MobileRadio (dPMR) standard also defined by the ETSI, or the Digital MobileRadio (DMR) standard also defined by the ETSI. Because these systemsgenerally provide lower throughput than the 3GPP and LTE systems, theyare sometimes designated narrowband RANs.

Communications in accordance with any one or more of these protocols orstandards, or other protocols or standards, may take place over physicalchannels in accordance with one or more of a TDMA (time divisionmultiple access), FDMA (frequency divisional multiple access), OFDMA(orthogonal frequency division multiplexing access), or CDMA (codedivision multiple access) protocols. Mobile stations in RANs such asthose set forth above send and receive audio and/or data (e.g., encodedvoice, audio, video, images, control information, text messages, instantmessages, short message service (SMS), multimedia message service (MMS),e-mail, and/or audio/video streams) in accordance with the designatedprotocol.

OMA-PoC, in particular, enables familiar PTT and “instant on” featuresof traditional half duplex MSs, but uses MSs operating over moderncellular telecommunications networks. Using PoC, MSs such as mobiletelephones and notebook computers can function as PTT half-duplex MSsfor transmitting and receiving auditory data. Other types of PTT modelsand multimedia call models (MMCMs) are also available. Still further,other types of communications models for transmission and reception ofother types of data are available as well.

Floor control in an OMA-PoC session, in one example, is generallymaintained by a PTT server that controls communications between two ormore MSs. When a user of one of the MSs keys a PTT button, a request forpermission to speak in the OMA-PoC session is transmitted from theuser's MS to the PTT server using, for example, a real-time transportprotocol (RTP) message. If no other users are currently speaking in thePoC session, an acceptance message is transmitted back to the user's MSand the user can then speak into a microphone of the MS. Using standardcompression/decompression (codec) techniques, the user's voice isdigitized and transmitted using discrete auditory data packets (e.g.,together which form an auditory data stream over time), such asaccording to RTP and internet protocols (IP), to the PTT server. The PTTserver then transmits the received auditory data packets to other usersof the PoC session (e.g., to other MSs in the group of MSs or talkgroupto which the user is subscribed), using for example a unicast,multicast, or broadcast communication technique.

Narrowband LMR systems, on the other hand, operate in either aconventional or trunked configuration. In either configuration, aplurality of MSs are partitioned into separate groups of MSs. In aconventional system, each MS in a group is selected to a particularfrequency for communications associated with that MS's group. Thus, eachgroup is served by one channel, and multiple groups may share the samesingle frequency (in which case, in some embodiments, group IDs may bepresent in the group data to distinguish between groups using the sameshared frequency). Communications in a conventional system may takeplace via an infrastructure-provided repeater or repeaters, or directlyvia a direct mode (including talk-around) protocol.

In contrast, a trunked radio system and its MSs use a pool of trafficchannels for virtually an unlimited number of groups of MSs (e.g.,talkgroups). Thus, all groups are served by all channels. The trunkedradio system works to take advantage of the probability that not allgroups need a traffic channel for communication at the same time. When amember of a group requests a call on a control or rest channel on whichall of the MSs in the system idle awaiting new call notifications, inone embodiment, a call controller assigns a separate traffic channel forthe requested group call, and all group members move from the assignedcontrol or rest channel to the assigned traffic channel for the groupcall. Communications then take place via the assigned traffic channelrepeater. In another embodiment, when a member of a group requests acall on a control or rest channel, the call controller may convert thecontrol or rest channel on which the MSs were idling to a trafficchannel for the call, and instruct all MSs that are not participating inthe new call to move to a newly assigned control or rest channelselected from the pool of available channels. With a given number ofchannels, a much greater number of groups can be accommodated in atrunked system as compared with conventional radio systems. In a trunkedsystem, communications may also take place directly between MSs whenoperating in a talk-around mode (e.g. direct mode when infrastructuredevices are also available). In some embodiments, group datatransmissions may occur in a trunked radio system on an assigned trunkedtraffic channel, while in other embodiments, the group datatransmissions may occur on an assigned data revert channel. Otherpossibilities exist as well.

Group communications such as group audio calls or group datatransmissions may be made between wireless and/or wireline participantsin accordance with either a narrowband or a broadband protocol orstandard. Group members for group communications may be statically ordynamically defined. That is, in a first example, a user oradministrator working on behalf of the user may indicate to theswitching and/or radio network (perhaps at a radio controller, callcontroller, controller device, PTT server, zone controller, or mobilemanagement entity (MME), base station controller (BSC), mobile switchingcenter (MSC), site controller, Push-to-Talk controller, or other networkdevice) a list of participants of a group at the time of the groupcommunication or in advance of the group communication. The groupmembers (e.g., MSs) could be provisioned in the network by the user oran agent, and then provided some form of group identity or identifier,for example. Then, at a future time, an originating user in a group maycause some signaling to be transmitted indicating that he or she wishesto establish a group communication session with each of thepre-designated participants in the defined group. In another example,MSs may dynamically affiliate with a group (and also disassociate withthe group) perhaps based on user input or infrastructure controllerdevice configuration or action, and the switching and/or radio networkmay track group membership and route new group communications accordingto the current group membership. In some instances, a group of MSs maybe identified as a communication group, and a communication initiated tomembers of that communication group (whether including the synchronousor asynchronous transmission of audio or other data noted above) may beidentified as a group communication session.

Communication groups may be used to communicate between groups ofcurrently active MSs, where the groups are conventionally created(statically or dynamically) based on a type of currently active MS useror created based on a currently occurring event or incident, such asgroups of currently active fire fighters, currently active police,currently active store employees, or currently active government agencyemployees, for responding to a currently occurring incident at aparticular location.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, an incident/response area 100 may havea defined location 102 and may have a response boundary 104 staticallydefined at a fixed distance 106 from the defined location 102. In otherembodiments, response boundary 104 may represent a maximum transmissionrange of BS 130 if it were positioned at defined location 102. Variouspotential responders to an incident at the defined location 102 may beon scene or within the response boundary 104 at the time of the incidentor shortly after the incident occurs. Each potential responder may be aperson or vehicle with an associated MS (e.g., portable or vehicular MS)capable of communicating wirelessly with each other and/or with a RAN126. Such potential responding MSs may include, for example, apedestrian responder MS 112A (e.g., a traffic control officer operatingon-foot), a motor vehicle responder MS 114A (e.g., police car), a motorvehicle responder MS 116A (e.g., fire engine), and a human-poweredvehicle responder MS 118A (e.g., bicycle officer).

Each of the responder MSs may, in one example, already be actively usingRF resources 128 of the RAN 126, which may be a LMR or LTE RAN providingcoverage substantially throughout the incident/response area 100,illustrated in FIG. 1 as including a single fixed terminal (BS) 130coupled to a controller device 132 (e.g., radio controller, callcontroller, PTT server, zone controller, MME, BSC, MSC, site controller,Push-to-Talk controller, or other network device). As illustrated inFIG. 1, using the response boundary 104 to set group membership for anincident or response required at or near the defined location 102 aidsin coordinating a response to the currently occurring event or incident.

However, in addition to the current event or incident situation notedabove, there may be other situations in which an initiating MS userwishes to more dynamically form a new communication group that are notpossible using existing mechanisms. Accordingly, there is a need for animproved method and apparatus for dynamically forming communicationgroups, and more particularly, for forming communication groups basednot on a current location of currently active MSs, but instead, on alocation history of MSs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an existing incident/response areaillustrating conventional communication group formation.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a controller device for formingcommunication groups based on location history in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a mobile station for requesting andparticipating in a communication group formed based on location historyin accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a first schematic diagram of an incident/response areaillustrating communication group formation based on location history inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a second schematic diagram of an incident/response areaillustrating communication group formation based on location history inaccordance with a further embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process executable at thecontroller device of FIG. 2, 4, or 5 for forming communication groupsbased on location history in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a ladder diagram illustrating a centralized process forforming communication groups based on location history in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a ladder diagram illustrating a decentralized process forforming communication groups based on location history in accordancewith an embodiment.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

The apparatus and method components have been represented whereappropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only thosespecific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments ofthe present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with detailsthat will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the arthaving the benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed is an improved method and apparatus for forming communicationgroups based not on a current location of currently active MSs, butinstead, on a location history of MSs.

In one embodiment, a process of forming a communication group based onmobile station location history includes: receiving, at a controllerdevice, a group formation request from a requesting device, the requestspecifying a location and a time window; identifying, by a controllerdevice, one or more mobile stations determined to be within a thresholdarea relative to the location during the time window; and causing, bythe controller device, a communication group to be created including theidentified one or more mobile stations.

In another embodiment, a controller device for forming a communicationgroup based on mobile station location history includes: a transceiver;a data store; and one or more processors configured to: receive, via thetransceiver, a group formation request from a requesting device, therequest specifying a location and a time window; identify one or moremobile stations determined to be within a threshold area relative to thelocation during the time window; and cause a communication group to becreated including the identified one or more mobile stations.

In a still further embodiment, a requesting device for requesting acommunication group based on mobile station location history includes: atransceiver; a memory; and one or more processors configured to:identify a location and time window associated with an event; transmit,via the transceiver, a group formation request specifying the locationand the time window, the group formation request requesting formation ofa communication group comprising mobile stations located within athreshold area relative to the location during the time window; receive,via the transceiver, a communication group identifier associated withthe communication group or identifiers of mobile stations formed in thecommunication group; and transmit, via the transceiver using thecommunication group identifier or via the transceiver using theidentifiers of mobile stations formed in the communication group, one ormore of audio and data to be provided to mobile stations in the formedcommunication group.

Each of the above-mentioned embodiments will be discussed in more detailbelow, starting with example device structures of a controller deviceand mobile station in which the embodiments may be practiced, followedby example schematic diagrams of incident/response areas in which theembodiments may be practiced, further followed by an illustration ofprocessing steps for supporting formation of communication groups basedon location history, and finally followed by communication groupformation based on location history from a system perspective for bothdistributed and centralized architectures. Further advantages andfeatures consistent with this disclosure will be set forth in thefollowing detailed description, with reference to the figures.

1. EXAMPLE DEVICE STRUCTURES FOR FORMING COMMUNICATION GROUPS BASED ONLOCATION HISTORY

FIG. 2 is an example functional block diagram of a controller device 232operating within a wireless communication system for formingcommunication groups based on location history in accordance with someembodiments. As shown in FIG. 2, controller device 232 includes acommunications unit 202 coupled to a common data and address bus 217 ofa processing unit 203. The controller device 232 may also include aninput unit (e.g., alphanumeric keypad, pointing device, etc.) 206 and adisplay screen 205, each coupled to be in communication with theprocessing unit 203. In some embodiments, the input unit 206 and displayscreen 205 may together provide a capacitive touch input device.

The processing unit 203 may include an encoder/decoder 211 with anassociated code Read Only Memory (ROM) 212 for storing data forinitializing system components, and encoding and/or decoding voice,data, control, or other signals that may be transmitted or receivedbetween the controller device 232 and BSs or MSs in the system. Theprocessing unit 203 may further include a microprocessor 213 coupled, bythe common data and address bus 217, to the encoder/decoder 211, aRandom Access Memory (RAM) 204, and a static memory 216.

The communications unit 202 may include one or more wired or wirelessinput/output (I/O) interfaces 209 that are configurable to communicatewith MSs, BSs, and/or with other devices in or communicably coupled tothe system. The communications unit 202 may include one or more wirelesstransceivers 208, such as a DMR transceiver, a P25 transceiver, aBluetooth transceiver, a Wi-Fi transceiver perhaps operating inaccordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard (e.g., 802.11a, 802.11b,802.11g), a WiMAX transceiver perhaps operating in accordance with anIEEE 802.16 standard, an LTE transceiver, and/or other similar type ofwireless transceiver configurable to communicate via a wireless radionetwork. The communications unit 202 may additionally include one ormore wireline transceivers 208, such as an Ethernet transceiver, aUniversal Serial Bus (USB) transceiver, or similar transceiverconfigurable to communicate via a twisted pair wire, a coaxial cable, afiber-optic link or a similar physical connection to a wireline network.The transceiver 208 is also coupled to a combined modulator/demodulator210 that is coupled to the encoder/decoder 211.

The microprocessor 213 has ports for coupling to the input unit 206 andto the display screen 205. Static memory 216 may store operating codefor the microprocessor 213 that, when executed, performs one or more ofthe processing, transmitting, and/or receiving steps set forth in FIGS.6-8 and accompanying text. Static memory 216 may also store, permanentlyor temporarily, group subscription information that, for each groupidentifier associated with a particular group of MSs, identifies MSsthat are members of the particular group. Additionally or alternatively,static memory 216 may also store (or controller device 232 may haveaccess to, via communications unit 202), MS location history informationthat identifies, for each MS, a plurality of prior locations andcorresponding times when the MS was at or associated with each priorlocation, consistent with the forthcoming description. Still further,static memory 216 may store (or controller device 232 may have accessto, via communications unit 202), spatial, geographical, cartographic,transportation system, and/or other types of information.

Static memory 216 may comprise, for example, a hard-disk drive (HDD), anoptical disk drive such as a compact disk (CD) drive or digitalversatile disk (DVD) drive, a solid state drive (SSD), a tape drive, aflash memory drive, or a tape drive, to name a few.

FIG. 3 is an example functional block diagram of a MS 112 operatingwithin a wireless communication system in accordance with someembodiments. As shown in FIG. 3, MS 112 comprises a radio frequencycommunications unit 302 coupled to a common data and address bus 317 ofa processing unit 303. The MS 112 may also include an input 306 and adisplay screen 305, each coupled to be in communication with processingunit 303. The input 306 may include an alphanumeric physical keypad (orvirtual keypad in cooperation with capacitive touch display screen 305)for inputting text for group communications. The display screen 305 mayfurther function to display group communications received viacommunications unit 302. A microphone 320 captures audio from a userthat is further vocoded by processing unit 303 and transmitted as voicedata by communication unit 302 to other MSs or other devices in system.A communications speaker 322 reproduces audio that is decoded from voicedata transmissions received from other MSs via the communications unit302.

The processing unit 303 may also include an encoder/decoder 311 with anassociated code Read Only Memory (ROM) 312 for storing data forinitializing system components and encoding and/or decoding voice orother traffic information (including image data, audio data, video data,text data, control signals, etc.) that may be transmitted or received bythe MS 112. The processing unit 303 may further include a microprocessor313 coupled, by the common data and address bus 317, to theencoder/decoder 311, a RAM 304, and a static memory 316.

The radio frequency communications unit 302 is a combined receiver andtransmitter (e.g., transceiver) having a common antenna 307. The radiofrequency communications unit 302 has a transceiver 308 coupled to theantenna 307 via a radio frequency amplifier 309. The transceiver 308 maybe a transceiver operating in accordance with one or more standardprotocols, such as a DMR transceiver, a P25 transceiver, a TETRAtransceiver, a Bluetooth transceiver, an LTE transceiver, a Wi-Fitransceiver perhaps operating in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard(e.g., 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g), a WiMAX transceiver perhaps operatingin accordance with an IEEE 802.16 standard, an LTE transceiver, and/orother similar type of wireless transceiver configurable to communicatevia a wireless network. The transceiver 308 is also coupled to acombined modulator/demodulator 310 that is coupled to theencoder/decoder 311.

The microprocessor 313 has ports for coupling to the input 306 and tothe display screen 305. The microprocessor 313 further has ports forcoupling to the microphone 320 and to the speaker 322. In someembodiments of the present disclosure, the static memory 316 may storeoperating code for the microprocessor 313 that, when executed by themicroprocessor 313, perform one or more of the MS processing,transmitting, and/or receiving steps set forth in FIGS. 7-8 andaccompanying text. Static memory 316 may comprise, for example, a HDD,an optical disk drives such as a CD drive or DVD drive, a SSD, a tapedrive, a flash memory drive, or a tape drive, to name a few.

2. EXAMPLE INCIDENT/RESPONSE AREA AND COMMUNICATION GROUP FORMATIONUSING LOCATION HISTORY

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate several variations on communication groupformation using location history. For example, FIG. 4 is a cartographicview of a sparse district located in a country (e.g., sparse)environment, in which, for example, relatively few roads or obstaclesare present, and in which there is a minimum level of elevation changesand structures that block views.

FIG. 5, on the other hand, is a cartographic view of a dense districtlocated in a city (e.g., dense) environment, in which a relativelylarger number of roads are present, and in which there may be anincreased number of elevation changes and structures that block views.

In light of these variances, the formation of communication groups basedon location history may take into account these variances, as set forthin more detail with respect to each figure below. Of course, thedisclosed processes and devices are applicable to other types ofdistricts, and may apply independent of a type of district. Otherexamples exist as well.

FIG. 4, in particular, illustrates a first example incident/responsearea 400 including a defined location 402 at or within which an incidenthas occurred at a particular time or during a particular time window inthe past.

Radio access network (RAN) 426 provides wireless communications servicesto all MSs 112-118 in the incident/response area 400 via fixed terminal430 and wireless resource 428. While controller device 232 isillustrated in FIG. 4 as being within RAN 426, in other embodiments,controller device 232 may be located outside of RAN 426 and accessibleby RAN 426 via a separate wired or wireless communications interface.The wireless resource 428 may be, for example, one or more wirelesslinks supporting a standard or protocol such as GPRS or UMTS, 2G (e.g.GSM), 3G (e.g. WCDMA or Long Term Evolution (LTE)), 4G (WiMAX or LTE),iDEN, wireless LAN (WLAN), ETSI Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), Project 25(P25) standard defined by the Association of Public SafetyCommunications Officials International (APCO), Terrestrial Trunked Radio(TETRA), or other radio protocols or standards.

Although only one controller device 232, one fixed terminal 430, and onewireless resource 428 is illustrated in FIG. 4, the present disclosureis not limited as such, and more controllers, more fixed terminals, andmore wireless resources could be used in any particular implementation.Furthermore, while a single controller device 232 is illustrated in FIG.4, a distributed controller may be used that divides functions acrossmultiple devices, perhaps for load balancing reasons. Device controller232 may additionally function as a call controller, PTT server, zonecontroller, mobile management entity (MME), base station controller(BSC), mobile switching center (MSC), site controller, Push-to-Talkcontroller, or other network device for aiding in the control and/ordistribution of group audio, text, or other types of groupcommunications amongst served MSs 112-118. Finally, and although notillustrated in FIG. 4, RAN 426 may further comprise one or moreadditional routers, switches, LANs, WLANs, WANs, access points, or othernetwork infrastructure.

External networks (not shown) may also be accessible to MSs 112-118 viaRAN 426. External networks may include, for example, a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN), a plain old telephone (POT) system, theInternet, or another wireless service provider's network, among otherpossibilities.

Dispatch console 434 may be directly coupled to controller 432, asshown, or may be indirectly coupled to controller 432 via one or moreinternal or externals networks. The dispatch console 434 allows anadministrator or dispatcher at a dispatch console to initiateinfrastructure-sourced location history-based group communications togroups of MSs relative to a defined location indicated by thedispatcher, among other features and functions.

The defined location 402 may be entered in or reported manually byanother MS user or a dispatcher or could be automatically determinedbased on a reported current or past location of another MS. The definedlocation 402 may be identified as one or more of a street address, anintersection, a global positioning system (GPS) location, an elevation,a triangulated location, an identity (hardware address, IP address,network identifier, etc.) of a fixed wireless transmitting device (e.g.,base station, access point, wireless beaconing device, other mobilestation, etc.), a uniquely identified structure (such as a particularsubway, train line, road, or building), a uniquely identified user orvehicle (e.g., separately tracked by the controller device 232 by useridentifier or vehicle identifier), a building floor, or some other formof location identifier.

In some embodiments, the defined location 402 may be used directly as a“threshold area” to form a communication group using location history,and only other mobile stations having a reported location equal to the“threshold area” or reporting a geographic location determined by thecontroller device to be equivalent to the “threshold area,” via somemapping maintained at the controller device 232, are added to thecommunication group. In other embodiments, the defined location may be ageographic location (reported by the MS user or translated to ageographic location from a location identifier provided by the MS user,such as another user, mobile station, or vehicle that the controllerdevice 232 separately determines the geographic location of) and one ormore threshold areas may be determined that modify or expand upon thedefined location to be more inclusive of MSs whose users may havewitnessed or participated in an event or incident at the definedlocation, or may have witnessed other attributes or conditions of theareas surrounding the defined location.

For example, distances 406-410 may be used to define threshold areas412-416 that may be used to identify additional MSs to include in acommunication group based on location history. One of distances 406-410may be specified in a communication group formation request, may beconfigured in the controller device 232, or may be dynamicallydetermined or varied from a default value or value specified in therequest based on other parameters such as time of day, weatherconditions, spatial and/or geographical features of the areas arounddefined location 402, transportation systems, and/or other types ofparameters that take into account a witness's visual or auditory rangeand/or a mobility of a party to the incident or event occurring at ornear defined location 402.

For example, the controller device 232 may access weather conditions viaa weather server and modify the distances 406-410 up or down based onweather conditions retrieved from the weather server that may positivelyor negatively affect visibility in the area in the vicinity of thedefined location 402. For example, poorer weather may cause distancecriterions to decrease while good weather may cause distance criterionsto increase. A determined time of day, determined at the controllerdevice 232 or via an external time server device, may also causedistances 406-410 to vary (e.g., increased during the day and decreasedat night, for example) based on an impact on visibility. Other examplesare possible as well.

Various MSs 112, 114, 116, and 118 are illustrated as they move acrossdifferent locations 112B-D, 114B-D, 116B-D, and 118B-D over time. EachMS 114-118 in FIG. 4 may have a same or similar structure to MS 112 ofFIG. 3. Each MS 112, 114, 116, and 118 may be a group communicationsdevice, such as a push-to-talk (PTT) device, that is normally maintainedin a monitor only mode, and which switches to a transmit-only mode (forhalf-duplex devices) or transmit and receive mode (for full-duplexdevices) upon depression or activation of a PTT input switch. In otherembodiments, each MS may be a laptop computer, tablet, smart phone, orother communications device capable of transmitting voice and/or datavia RAN 426. The group communications architecture provided via RAN 426allows a single MS, such as MS 112, to communicate with one or moreother MSs (such as MSs 114, 116, and/or 118) associated with a formedlocation-history-based group at the same time.

In particular, MS 112 is associated with a traffic control officer andmay move from a location 112B at 12:00 pm, to location 112C at 1:00 pm,and finally to location 112D at 2:00 pm on a particular day, such asDecember 1. On the same day, MS 114 is associated with a police car andmay move from a location 114B at 12:00 pm, to location 114C at 1:00 pm,and finally to location 114D at 2:00 pm. Further, MS 116 is associatedwith a fire engine and may move from a location 116B at 12:00 pm, tolocation 116C at 1:00 pm, and finally to location 116D at 2:00 pm onDecember 1. On the same day, MS 118 is associated with a bicycle officerand may move from a location 118B at 12:00 pm, to location 118C at 1:00pm, and finally to location 118D at 2:00 pm. Similar to the definedlocation 402, each of the locations 112B-D, 114B-D, 116B-D, and 118B-Dmay be a street address, an intersection, a GPS location, a triangulatedlocation, an identity of a fixed wireless transmitting device, auniquely identified physical structure (such as a subway, train line,road, or building), or some other form of location identifier. Suchlocation information may be manually entered at the MS by a user andstored at the MS or immediately, periodically, or intermittentlyreported to controller device 232 via RAN 426. In other embodiments,such location information may be automatically detected at each MS via aGPS receiver, triangulation process, wireless network or wireless beaconidentification process, optical identification process using an imagingdevice coupled to the MS, or some other automated process and similarlystored at the MS or reported to the controller device 232 via RAN 426.In the event that the location information is stored at the MS and notimmediately, periodically, or intermittently reported to the controllerdevice 232, the location data or information relative to the locationdata may be provided to the controller device by MSs on request from thecontroller device 232 in the manner set forth in more detail below.Additionally or alternatively, an infrastructure-based locationdetermination may be implemented using same or similar trilaterationtechniques via signals received from the MS at a plurality ofground-based fixed terminals. Other method of tracking and reporting MSlocations could be used as well.

The time at each respective location may be stored and/or reported byMSs as an absolute time (e.g., Dec. 1, 2014 at 14:01), or a relativetime (e.g., entered or determined X number of seconds, minutes, and/orhours ago or determined X number of seconds, minutes, and/or hours sincea relative start time). In embodiments in which the location isimmediately, periodically, or intermittently reported, the time may beexplicitly included in the location report or may be determined based ona transmit or receive timestamp of the message reporting the locationvia RAN 426. In the case of the infrastructure-based locationdetermination, the time may be determined based on an average time atwhich the signal or signals were received at the fixed terminals used incalculating the MS's location.

As one example of an operation of forming a communication group based onlocation history, a police officer associated with an unidentified MSmay field a police report on December 2^(nd) about a robbery thatoccurred at defined location 402 on December 1 at approximately 12:30pm. As part of the investigation, the police officer may wish to speakwith all other personnel that were within the vicinity of (e.g., in athreshold area relative to) the defined location 402 during a particulartime window such as 12:00 pm-1:00 pm on December 1^(st). Accordingly,the unidentified MS may transmit a request to controller device 232 toform a communication group based on MS location history. The request mayspecify the defined location 402 using any of the locationidentification mechanisms already set forth above, and may specify thetime window of interest in the past (again, using any of the time windowidentification mechanisms already set forth above).

For example, the police officer may be familiar with the generalvicinity of the defined location 402 and may specify a threshold area414 relative to the location 402 by including a range 408 in therequest. Of course, other methods of specifying threshold areas could beused as well, and other possible threshold area definitions may take theform of irregular and/or discontinuous shapes and may include elementsof elevation as well. More particularly, in some embodiments, thethreshold areas may be based on some other form of cartographic ornon-cartographic definition, such as a set of three or more polygonvertices, where each polygon vertex is a GPS coordinate, such as alatitude and longitude pair or a latitude, longitude, and latitudetriplet, such as a wireless network or beacon identifier, such as aphysical structure or transportation system, or some other form ofcartographic definition. Other examples are possible as well.

In response to receiving the request, and using the time window,threshold area, and MS location examples set forth above with respect toFIG. 4, the controller device 232 may access location historyinformation maintained at the controller device 232 or otherwise madeaccessible to the controller device 232 and determine that MSs 112 (vialocations 112B and 112C), 114 (via location 114B), and 116 (via location116B) meet the time window and threshold area requirements to be addedas members of the requested communication group. The communicationdevice 232 then creates the communication group, and the police officermay then communicate with the MSs 112, 114, and 116 (via voice, audio,video, images, control information, text messages, instant messages,SMS, MMS, e-mail, and/or audio/video streams, etc.) regarding therobbery in a quick and automated fashion using the created communicationgroup.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second example incident/response area 500 includinga defined location 502 at which an incident or event has occurred at aparticular time or during a particular time period in the past. Thedefined location 502 may be entered, reported, determined, and/oridentified similar to defined location 402 of FIG. 4.

In this example, distances 504-510 define example elliptical thresholdareas 512-518 that may be used to determine which additional MSs toinclude in a communication group based on location history. One or allof distances 504-510 may be specified in a communication group formationrequest, may be configured in the controller device 232, may bedynamically determined or varied from a default value or value specifiedin the request based on other parameters such as time of day, weatherconditions, spatial and/or geographical features of the areas arounddefined location 502, transportation systems around defined location502, and/or other types of parameters that take into account awitnesses' visual or auditory range and/or mobility of a party to theincident/event occurring at or near the defined location 502.

RAN 426, fixed terminal 430, controller device 232, and dispatch console134 perform the same functions and have the same attributes as alreadydescribed above with respect to FIG. 4. Various MSs 112, 114, 116, and118 are illustrated as they move across different locations 112B-D,114B-D, 116B-D, and 118B-D over time, and which locations are trackedand made accessible to controller device 232, in a same manner as thatset forth in FIG. 4.

As another example of an operation of forming a communication groupbased on location history, a social worker associated with anunidentified MS may be interviewing a witness on December 2^(nd) about areported bullying incident and may find out that the incident occurredat location 502 on December 1 between 12:15 and 12:45 pm. As part of theinvestigation, the social worker may wish to speak with all otherpersonnel that were within a field of view of (e.g., in a threshold arearelative to) the location 502 during a particular time window such as12:00 pm-1:00 pm on December 1^(st) that encompasses the incident orevent. Accordingly, the unidentified MS may transmit a request tocontroller device 232 to form a communication group based on MS locationhistory. The request may specify the defined location 502 using any ofthe location identification mechanisms already set forth above, and mayspecify the time window of interest in the past (again, using any of thetime window identification mechanisms already set forth above).

In one example, the social worker may learn from the report that theparties to the event/incident came from west of the defined location 502and then headed east of the defined location 502 afterward, and thus mayspecify threshold areas 516, 518 relative to the location 502 byincluding distances 508, 510 in the request. Of course, other methods ofspecifying threshold areas could be used as well. For example, theunspecified MS may specify in the request only the defined location 502,and the controller device 232 may access cartographic informationregarding the area surrounding the defined location 502 and determinethat the incident could be viewed along north, east, south, and westbound streets (taking into consideration buildings that would blockviews in other directions), and the controller device 232 may thenidentify threshold areas 512-518 using distances 504-510. The distancesmay vary due to known variations in elevation, sun location, weather,etc. that impact an ability of a witness to view the incident or otheroccurrences or participants, before, during, or after the event orincident occurred. And while the distances 504-510 are illustrated asbeing converted into threshold areas have an elliptical shape, othershapes such as rectangles could just as well be used. Of course, othernon-cartographic location identifiers could be used as well.

In response to receiving the request, the controller device 232 mayaccess location history information maintained at or accessible to thecontroller device 232 and determine using the time window and thresholdareas set forth above, that MSs 112 (via location 112B) and 116 (vialocation 116B) meet the time window and threshold area requirements tobe added as members of the requested communication group. The controllerdevice 232 then creates the communication group and the social workermay then communicate with the MSs 112 and 116 and hence their users (viavoice, audio, video, images, control information, text messages, instantmessages, SMS, MMS, e-mail, and/or audio/video streams, etc.) to requestadditional information regarding the bullying incident in a quick andautomated fashion using the created communication group.

In addition to the circular threshold areas of FIG. 4 and ellipticalthreshold areas of FIG. 5, other regular and irregularly definedthreshold areas could be requested by a MS and/or identified atcontroller device 232 relative to a defined location. For example, if arequesting device uniquely identifies a subway system (whether or notincluding a particular line of that subway system) in a request for acommunication group based on location history, the controller device 232may either (i) access a geographic information system and determinethreshold areas (for example, GPS locations including latitude/longitudepairs or pre-configured associated geo-fence definitions) associatedwith that identified subway system, subsequently finding MSs reportinggeographic locations in those threshold areas during the specified timewindow or (ii) find MSs reporting that they were in the identifiedsubway system (or on a particular train of that system) during thespecified time window.

In the latter case, the reporting MSs' users may have manually entered aunique identifier associated with the identified subway system or trainline to identify their location, or in some embodiments, the reportingMS may detect some other signal (wireless network identifier, NFCdevice, wireless beacon, optical character or location identification,etc.) indicative of the MS' presence in the identified subway system ortrain line, and report either the identity of the detected signal orbeacon or the identity of the device transmitting the signal or beacon,or may report a translated MS location (retrieved from a databasemapping such signals to geographic or structural locations) determinedas a function of the detected signal. Still further, reported GPS ortriangulated locations (perhaps including elevation as well) received atthe controller device 232 may be translated by the controller devicebased on geographic, cartographic, or transportation system informationavailable to the controller device 232, such that a reported GPSlocation and/or elevation indicative of a MS's location at an entranceto a subway system, for example, may be used by the controller device232 to subsequently infer that the MS is in the subway system, and suchthat a record of such is maintained at or accessible to the controllerdevice 232 for later use. Similar considerations could be used forbuildings and other locations. Other method of reporting and tracking MSlocations and matching MS locations to requested locations and/orthreshold areas could be used as well.

3. PROCESSES FOR FORMING COMMUNICATION GROUPS BASED ON LOCATION HISTORY

FIG. 6 includes a flow chart illustrating a process 600 includingprocessing steps executable at the controller device 232 of FIGS. 2, 5,and 6 for forming communication groups based on location history. Ofcourse, additional steps, receptions, and/or transmissions not disclosedherein could be additionally added before, after, or in-between steps,receptions, and/or transmissions disclosed in FIG. 6, and the presenceof such additional steps, receptions, and/or transmissions would notnegate the purpose and advantages of the examples set forth in detailthroughout the remainder of this disclosure.

At step 602, a controller device in a RAN receives a request from arequesting device (e.g., a requesting MS or requesting dispatch console)for formation of a new communication group using location and timewindow criterions specified in the request.

At step 604, the controller device identifies one or more MSs meetingthe specified location and time window criterion. In some embodiments,the location specified in the request may be associated with a singlepoint, address, transportation system, wireless network, wirelessbeacon, identified vehicle, identified mobile station, user identifier,or physical structure, or multiple points, addresses, transportationsystems, wireless networks, wireless beacons, identified vehicles,identified mobile stations, user identifiers, or physical structures,and the controller device may directly use such specified location asthe threshold area or areas to identify other MSs associated with thesame single or multiple points, addresses, transportation systems,wireless networks, wireless beacons, or physical structures during thespecified time window. In other embodiments, the controller device mayuse pre-configured algorithms (such as set forth with respect to FIG. 4)or other databases (such as set forth with respect to FIG. 5) toidentify one or more continuous or discontinuous threshold areas thatmodify or expand upon the specified location. In other embodiments, theMS may, in addition to specifying the location within the request,additionally specify the threshold areas themselves in the request,which the controller device may use directly in identifying MSs to addto the communication group or further modify or expand upon using sameor similar pre-configured algorithms or other databases. Once thethreshold areas are identified, MSs have a location within the thresholdarea or areas during the specified time window are identified. As setforth in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 7 and 8, MS locationinformation may be stored and retrieved in a centralized or distributedmanner.

Returning to FIG. 6, at step 606, the controller device creates acommunication group including MSs meeting the threshold area and timewindow criteria (and in some embodiments, including the requestingdevice as well). The identifies of the communication group member MSsmay be stored at the controller device and/or provided back to therequesting device and/or MSs identified at step 604. In someembodiments, a unique group identifier may be assigned to the createdcommunication group, and the identifier provided back to the requestingdevice and/or the MSs identified at step 604 by the controller devicefor use in further transmitting group communications, such as encodedvoice, audio, video, images, control information, text messages, instantmessages, SMS, MMS, e-mail, and/or audio/video streams.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate, via separate ladder diagrams, two differentexemplary ways in which communication groups based on location historymay be formed. FIG. 7 illustrates a centralized group formationmechanism while FIG. 8 illustrates a distributed group formationmechanism.

Each of the ladder diagrams set forth in FIGS. 7 and 8 involve arequesting device 701, which may be another MS or a dispatch console, acontroller device 704 that may be the same or similar to controllerdevice 232 of FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 6, and MSs 706-710 that may have a sameor similar structure as MS 112 of FIGS. 3-5.

In ladder diagram 700 of FIG. 7, MSs 706-710 periodically orintermittently transmit Location_Info 711 messages, each including anindication of the MS's location, to the controller device 704. At step712, the controller device 704 stores the location information alongwith time information included in the Location_Info 711 message itselfor otherwise determined by a time of receipt of the Location_Info 711message. The location and time information may be stored in a locationdatabase at the controller device 704 or in a location database at someother computing device accessible to the controller device 704. In someembodiments, the controller device 704 may determine the MSs' 706-710location using some infrastructure-based location determinationmechanism, such as a triangulation mechanism using a plurality of fixedterminals in a same RAN as controller device 704. In still furtherembodiments, the MSs 706-710 may be queried for location information bycontroller device 704 at periodic or intermittent intervals, and thecontroller device 704 may process responses thereto at a step similar tostep 712.

At step 713, the requesting device 702 detects a request to form acommunication group based on location history, and subsequentlytransmits a GroupFormingRequest 714 to the controller device 704. Therequesting device 702 may detect the request as a result of a usermanipulation of a user interface at the requesting device. Therequesting device may further receive an identity of a specifiedlocation and time window via the same user interface. In otherembodiments, the requesting device may use its own automaticallydetermined current location (identified in any manner already citedabove), or may identify a target MS whose previously-reported locationor locations during the time window should be used as the specifiedlocation or locations for forming the communication group.

In some embodiments, the time window is a non-zero time window in thepast that does not include a current time, while in other embodiments,it may include the current time. The time window may be specified as astart time and a duration, or a start time and an end time. The startand/or end times may be specified in absolute values or in valuesrelative to the current time or some prior reference time. In someexamples, the MS may display a calendar and the MS user may select oneor more dates and/or times from the calendar to specify the time windowvia the user interface.

At step 716, the controller device 704 receives the GroupFormingRequest714 and processes the request. As part of this process, the controllerdevice 704 retrieves from the GroupFormingRequest 714 message orotherwise identifies using the specified location in theGroupFormingRequest 714 message one or more threshold areas relative thespecified location. In some embodiments, the threshold areas will besubstantially larger than the specified location (as illustrated inFIGS. 4 and 5 above), and may involve the translation of a specifiedlocation into a geo-fence or similar area using pre-configuredalgorithms and/or retrieved database information. In other embodiments,the threshold area may be equal to the specified location (e.g., such asin those situations in which the specified location is an address, anidentified physical building or structure, an identified transportationsystem or vehicle, a wireless network, or a wireless beacon, and MSlocation information accessible to the controller device 704 similarlyidentifies tracked MS locations). Once the threshold areas areidentified, the controller device accesses the location databasepopulated at step 712 to identify MSs that reported a location fallingwithin or meeting the threshold area requirement during the time windowspecified in the request. Once the MSs meeting the threshold area andtime window requirements are identified, the controller device 704creates a communication group that includes the identified MSs and, insome embodiments, the requesting device 702 as well. As part of thisprocess, the controller device 704 may assign a group identifier to thecreated group and store the identifier for mapping the group identifierto each of the members of the created communication group. In thisexample, it is assumed that MSs 706 and 708, but not MS 710, meet thethreshold area and time window requirements, and are thus included inthe crated communication group.

The controller device 704 subsequently transmits invite messages 718-722to the members of the group, including the MS 706, MS 708, andrequesting device 702. At step 724, each of the MSs 706, 708 processesthe respective invite messages 718-722. Processing the invite messages718-722 may include, for example, storing a group identifier included inthe invite message and, when subsequent group communications arereceived including the group identifier, playing back the groupcommunications (including displaying text, video, and/or images and/orplaying back audio). In some embodiments, invite messages 718 and 720may not be sent and process step 724 not executed at MSs 706, 708, butinstead, the invite message 722 may provide the requesting device 702with the group identity or individual unique identities of the MSs 706and 708, such as e-mail addresses, phone numbers, or messaging user-ids,which the requesting device 702 may subsequently use to transmit groupcommunications to MSs 706, 708.

In ladder diagram 800 of FIG. 8, MSs 706-710 periodically orintermittently determine their current location and store the locationinformation along with time information identifying a time at which thelocation was determined. The location and time information may be storedlocally in a permanent or removable storage at each MS. The location maybe determined automatically via a GPS, triangulation, opticalrecognition, wireless network identification, or wireless beaconidentification process as set forth above, or may be determined incooperation with a user (e.g., the MS may periodically or intermittentlyrequest that the user identify and/or confirm a current location of theMS via its user interface, or the user of the MS may independently do soon a periodic or intermittent basis).

At step 813, and similar to step 713 of FIG. 7, the requesting device702 detects a request to form a communication group based on locationhistory, and subsequently transmits a GroupFormingRequest 814, similarto GroupFormingRequest 714 of FIG. 7, to the controller device 704.

At step 816, the controller device 704 receives the GroupFormingRequest814 and processes the request. As part of this process, the controllerdevice 704 retrieves from the GroupFormingRequest 814 message orotherwise identifies using the specified location in theGroupFormingRequest 814 message one or more threshold areas relative thespecified location similar to the manner set forth in step 716 of FIG.7.

Once the threshold areas are identified, the controller device 704queries all active MSs under its control in the wireless network viaGroupFormingMSRequest 818 messages. Each GroupFormingMSRequest 818message identifies the threshold area or areas determined by thecontroller device at step 816 and the time window specified in theGroupFormingRequest 814 message. At step 820, each MS 706-710 receivingthe GroupFormingRequest 814 message extracts the time window andthreshold areas from the message and compares the time window andthreshold area criterion to the MS location and time information storedat step 812. If the receiving MS determines, based on its storedlocation and time information, that it meets the threshold area and timewindow requirements set forth in the GroupFormingRequest 814 message, ittransmits a join message in response. In this example, it is assumedthat MSs 706 and 708, but not MS 710, meet the threshold area and timewindow requirements, and thus transmit respective Join messages 822-824back to the controller device 704.

At step 826, the controller device processes the Join messages 822-824and creates a communication group that includes each MS transmitting aJoin message 822-824 and, in some embodiments, includes the requestingdevice 702 as well. As part of this process, the controller device 704may assign a group identifier to the group that maps the identifier toeach of the members of the created communication group.

The controller device 704 subsequently transmits invite messages 718-722to the members of the group, including the MS 706, MS 708, andrequesting device 702. At step 724, each of the MSs 706, 708 andrequesting device 702 process the respective invite messages 718-722similar to the manner set forth in FIG. 7 above. In some embodiments,invite messages 718 and 720 may not be sent and process step 724 may notbe executed at MSs 706, 708, but instead, the invite message 722 mayprovide the requesting device 702 with the group identity or individualunique identities of the MSs 706 and 708, such as e-mail addresses,phone numbers, or messaging user-ids, which the requesting device 704may subsequently use to transmit group communications.

4. CONCLUSION

In accordance with the foregoing, an improved method and apparatus forforming communication groups based not on a current location ofcurrently active MSs, but instead, on a location history of MSs,allowing communication groups related to a particular event oroccurrence in the past to be created more efficiently and moreeffectively.

As a result, a more intuitive, useful, and efficient groupcommunications system can be provided, improving communicationcapabilities of wireless transmission systems. Other advantages andbenefits are possible as well.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have beendescribed. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates thatvarious modifications and changes can be made without departing from thescope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly,the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrativerather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intendedto be included within the scope of present teachings. The benefits,advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause anybenefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced arenot to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features orelements of any or all the claims. The invention is defined solely bythe appended claims including any amendments made during the pendency ofthis application and all equivalents of those claims as issued.

Moreover in this document, relational terms such as first and second,top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish oneentity or action from another entity or action without necessarilyrequiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between suchentities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has”,“having,” “includes”, “including,” “contains”, “containing” or any othervariation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, suchthat a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has,includes, contains a list of elements does not include only thoseelements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherentto such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by“comprises . . . a”, “has . . . a”, “includes . . . a”, “contains . . .a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence ofadditional identical elements in the process, method, article, orapparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains the element. The terms“a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless explicitly statedotherwise herein. The terms “substantially”, “essentially”,“approximately”, “about” or any other version thereof, are defined asbeing close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and inone non-limiting embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, inanother embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1% and inanother embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled” as used herein isdefined as connected, although not necessarily directly and notnecessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is “configured” ina certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also beconfigured in ways that are not listed.

It will be appreciated that some embodiments may be comprised of one ormore generic or specialized processors (or “processing devices”) such asmicroprocessors, digital signal processors, customized processors andfield programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and unique stored programinstructions (including both software and firmware) that control the oneor more processors to implement, in conjunction with certainnon-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions of themethod and/or apparatus described herein. Alternatively, some or allfunctions could be implemented by a state machine that has no storedprogram instructions, or in one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of certainof the functions are implemented as custom logic. Of course, acombination of the two approaches could be used.

Moreover, an embodiment can be implemented as a computer-readablestorage medium having computer readable code stored thereon forprogramming a computer (e.g., comprising a processor) to perform amethod as described and claimed herein. Examples of suchcomputer-readable storage mediums include, but are not limited to, ahard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storagedevice, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read OnlyMemory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), an EEPROM(Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) and a Flashmemory. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill,notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choicesmotivated by, for example, available time, current technology, andeconomic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principlesdisclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such softwareinstructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader toquickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in theforegoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

We claim:
 1. A method of forming a communication group based on mobilestation location history, the method comprising: receiving, at acontroller device via a wired or wireless interface of the controllerdevice, a time and location-based group formation request from arequesting device different from the controller device, the requestspecifying a location and a time window of interest that is in the past;identifying, by the controller device, one or more mobile stationsdetermined to be within a threshold area relative to the location duringthe time window of interest; and causing, by the controller device, acommunication group to be created including the identified one or moremobile stations and including the requesting device that transmitted thetime and location-based group formation request.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the step of identifying comprises accessing, by thecontroller device, a location database of mobile station locations andcorresponding time windows and identifying the one or more mobilestations determined to be within the threshold area relative to thelocation at any time during the time window as a function of a contentof the location database.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprisingperiodically or intermittently receiving, by the controller device,current location information from each of the one or more mobilestations and storing the current location information including a timeassociated with the current location information in the locationdatabase.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifyingcomprises causing, by the controller device, a group forming mobilestation request message to be transmitted to each of the one or moremobile stations including the threshold area and the time window andidentifying the one or more mobile stations that transmit a joinresponse indicating their presence within the threshold area during thetime window.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the communicationgroup to be created comprises transmitting, by the controller device, agroup communication invite message to each of the requesting device andthe identified one or more mobile stations.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the invite message includes a group identifier assigned to thecommunication group.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein causing thecommunication group to be created comprises transmitting, by thecontroller device, a message to the requesting device including one of agroup identifier assigned to the communication group and mobile stationidentifiers uniquely identifying each of the one or more mobile stationsin the communication group.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprisingcausing one or more of audio and data transmitted by the requestingdevice to be provided to the one or more mobile stations in the createdcommunication group and causing one or more of audio and datatransmitted by a particular one of the one or more mobile stations inthe created communication group to be provided to the remaining mobilestations of the one or more mobile stations in the created communicationgroup and to the requesting device.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereincausing the one or more of audio and data transmitted by the requestingdevice to be provided to the one or more mobile stations in the createdcommunication group comprises receiving the one or more of audio anddata transmitted by the requesting device at one of a push-to-talk (PTT)server and a repeater, and forwarding, via the one of the PTT server andthe repeater, the one or more of audio and data transmitted by therequesting device to the one or more mobile stations and the requestingdevice in the created communication group.
 10. The method of claim 8,wherein the requesting device is another mobile station different fromthe one or more mobile stations determined to be within the thresholdarea relative to the location during the time window of interest. 11.The method of claim 8, wherein data is transmitted by the requestingdevice and is provided to the one or more mobile stations in the createdcommunication group, the data comprising one of an instant message, atext message, e-mail, a short message service (SMS) message, and aMultimedia Messaging Service (MMS) message.
 12. The method of claim 8,wherein audio is transmitted by the requesting device and is provided tothe one or more mobile stations in the created communication group, theaudio being sent alone or accompanying one of image and video data. 13.The method of claim 8, wherein the requesting device is a dispatchconsole in an infrastructure network and is communicatively coupled tothe one or more mobile stations via a radio access network (RAN). 14.The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more of audio and datatransmitted by the requesting device to be provided to the one or moremobile stations in the created communication group is a request forinformation from the requesting device regarding an event that occurredat or near the location during the time window.
 15. The method of claim1, wherein the location in the request is a location or locations ofanother mobile station during the time window.
 16. The method of claim1, wherein the time window specifies a non-zero time window including abeginning time and an ending time in the past that does not include acurrent time.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold area isdetermined by the controller device as a function of the specifiedlocation and is varied as a function of cartographic information ortransportation system information associated with the location retrievedby the controller device.
 18. A controller device in an infrastructurenetwork for forming a communication group based on mobile stationlocation history, the controller device comprising: a wired or wirelesstransceiver; a data store; and one or more processors configured to:receive, via the wired or wireless transceiver, a group formationrequest from a requesting device different from the controller device,the request specifying a location and a time window of interest that isin the past; identify one or more mobile stations determined to bewithin a threshold area relative to the location during the time windowof interest; and cause a communication group to be created including theidentified one or more mobile stations and including the requestingdevice that transmitted the time and location-based group formationrequest.
 19. A requesting device for requesting a communication groupbased on mobile station location history, the requesting devicecomprising: a transceiver; a memory; and one or more processorsconfigured to: identify a location and time window of interestassociated with an event in the past; transmit, via the transceiver, atime and location-based group formation request specifying the locationand the time window of interest to a controller device in aninfrastructure network, the controller device different from therequesting device, the group formation request requesting formation of acommunication group comprising the requesting device and mobile stationslocated within a threshold area relative to the location during the timewindow of interest that is in the past; receive, via the transceiverfrom the controller device, a communication group identifier associatedwith the communication group or identifiers of mobile stations formed inthe communication group; transmit, via the transceiver using thecommunication group identifier or via the transceiver using theidentifiers of mobile stations formed in the communication group, one ormore of audio and data to be provided to mobile stations in the formedcommunication group; and receive, via the transceiver from a particularone of the mobile stations in the formed communication group, one ormore of second audio and data transmitted to the formed communicationgroup by the particular one of the mobile stations.
 20. The requestingdevice of claim 19, the mobile station further comprising a user inputinterface; wherein the location is determined via one of a user inputinterface, GPS receiver, triangulation process using the transceiver,wireless network identified via the transceiver, and wireless beaconidentified via the transceiver; and wherein the time window isidentified via a user input interface of the requesting device.